Where to start?

In the beginning was…chaos and clutter! On more than one occasion I have confessed to being like Oscar Madison from The Odd Couple. It is not an exaggeration and here are the pics to prove it!

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First order of business, get the cleaning done and set a routine for keeping it up! To that end, I’m going to revisit the FlyLady.

“Clutter is also stealing your precious time! Clutter cannot be organized. It can only be eliminated!” ~FlyLady

I DEFINITELY need to learn how to ELIMINATE the clutter!

FLYing means Finally Loving Yourself. I want you to have what I have: peace of mind, pride in my home, and a passion for living.

I dipped my toes in to FLYing in 2011, but I was still too caught up in my stress addiction. That’s about the only thing I can think of to call it. Anyway, I’m ready to start FLYing again ~ not just as an expression of finally loving myself, but also as an expression of love for Luna who deserves to grow up with structure, boundaries, and most importantly a mom who is present and engaged. It’s also expression of love for Jerry, despite his flaws he is doing his very best to provide for our family and the few days a month that he gets to be home with us should not be consumed with the chaotic energy from the clutter. Since I know how stressful it is for him to be surrounded by the chaos and that it is a trigger for his agitation and negativity, and I want to have that home time be as pleasant as possible, I owe it to myself, as much as I owe it to him.

There are 31 Beginner Baby Steps, one for each day of the month of July . . . but I only have five days before Jerry gets home. Therefore, my plan of action for the next four days is to do the baby steps, AND do major work each day toward getting the apartment ready for Jerry’s homecoming.

Ah, a kindred soul! I too visited FlyLady a few years ago. It was too much for me at the time, but I did take away one thing…keep the kitchen sink shiny! That’s all I could do, but do it I did, and I believe that’s where it started. My rooms are much cleaner now, and I FEEL like picking up, which is something that didn’t used to happen at all. The only thing I felt was guilty. And the lists, no matter how short, always intimidated me…still do. I now do what I feel like doing, which is usually a little bit in each room as I walk through. So, for now, just keep that kitchen sink shiny and the rest will follow. It may take months or years, but hey, it’s your life, you’ll do it when you can. (Oh, and interestingly, I’ve gotten off most of my meds by now too. Did one follow the other? Dunno. Just wanted to share a hope with you.)

I totally understand what you mean. I have this ingrained need to follow the process and start at #1, letter A, etc. This is a form of perfectionism that I think FlyLady recognizes, because she continually says to start where you are and offers many options for how to FLY.

I’m probably going to make my next post off of this issue. Thanks for commenting and giving me something more to consider.
Kina

Good luck! Not to give you advice, but I’m kinda like you, a little messy at heart. You might learn there’s a felix in there waiting to get out…that’s what I found. anyhoo. What I try for now is to keep one or two rooms generally picked all the time, that way even when most of the house is somewhat disordered, at least I have learned to maintain a couple rooms. For me it’s the kitchen and the front room by the door. They still get messy, but I don’t let them get super messy. Good luck and keeping rocking that 80s sound!

Patrice,
Thanks so much for that. As I stated in one of my posts recently, I like order and cleanliness, I just prefer to maintain what someone else has already done, lol. Seriously though, the mess does drive me crazy, I just get overwhelmed with it and talk myself into doing other things, most of the time. Here’s to forging new grooves in the brain!

Best of luck Kina. I’m on the opposite side of the fence. I’ve joined my partner in the UK from Australia. His small house was very messy when I got here – I did know what I was getting into. He is doing his best to keep it tidy but sometimes I feel like it’s a losing battle. I find the best thing for me is to let go and relax. Some of my friends would find it hard to believe that I’m living in chaos (mind you much less chaos than when I first arrived). Don’t be too hard on yourself. Make sure you do something for you every day and don’t give up if you miss some of your goals each day. 🙂

Best of luck with it Kina, just remember though that what doesn’t get done today will still be there tomorrow so don’t try and do too much. Listen to your body and if you get tired and need a break, take one! After you are done you can come over to the UK and start on my house if you like 😛
Take care!

Thanks Keith!. Believe me I know it will still be there…piled up along with what didn’t get done yesterday either, lol! I would love to visit the UK, but I doubt cleaning would be on the agenda, thanks for thinking of me though, it’s much appreciated.

Thanks Cate. We’ll see how it goes, yeah? Not sure which part you consider impressive though, the mess? Certainly. The plan? Possibly. The fact that I finally did a post that was less than 1,000 words and contained media? Oh yeah, I impressed myself with that one! lol

Blog for Mental Health

Bloggers for Peace

I'm a wordy, nerdy wannabe. I'm a proud mama of two adult children and the child still living at home. I also have two, fabulous grandchildren.
Sometimes, I write poetry. Often, I write "stream of consciousness" musings. Mostly, I write what's on my mind and in my heart.
Formerly writing under psudonym: Kina Diaz DeLeon